


Read All About It!

by Willowe



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Fluff, Humor, M/M, News Media, Superhusbands, Unnecessary Tolkien references, cameo by Stephen Colbert, stevetonysecretsanta
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-24
Updated: 2017-12-24
Packaged: 2019-02-19 10:12:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,025
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13121598
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Willowe/pseuds/Willowe
Summary: “This is the first time your relationship has hit the tabloids since the wedding, isn’t it?” Sam asks. “You and Tony had a planned press release for that, but now you’re at the mercy of the sharks.”“And I wasn’t when we got reinstated after Thanos?”Both Sam and Natasha shake their heads. “That was professional. This is personal,” Sam explains. “It’s a whole different situation now.”Or: Seven snapshots of the media circus surrounding Tony Stark-Rogers and Steve Rogers-Stark.





	Read All About It!

**Author's Note:**

> Written for @muchymozzerella for the 2017 SteveTony Secret Santa! One of their prompts was "canon/close to canon Superhusbands dealing with the public/media about their relationship (paparazzi, news, blogs, New Yorkers in general, etc)" and I tried to deliver on that. There's a little bit of everything in this fic- blog posts, news articles, TV show hosts, and a lot of ridiculously sappy nicknames. I had a blast writing this, and I hope you enjoy!

_**BATTLEFIELD ROMANCE: CAP AND IRON MAN CAUGHT LOCKING LIPS AFTER MIDTOWN FIGHT! SEE PAGE 15 FOR EXCLUSIVE PHOTOS!** _

Steve sees the tag splashed across the cover of the trashy magazine that someone left on the breakfast bar, and has to immediately flip through it to see what makes these photos so "exclusive". He knows that there are already dozens of pictures of him and Tony kissing already circulating the web, some from the paparazzi and some professionally-taken publicity photos from their wedding. So he’s a little bemused to see that the ones in print here are neither spectacular nor scandalous. There’s one of him helping Tony to his feet, another of Tony leaning heavily against him (emphasis on heavy- the Iron Man armor isn’t exactly light), and three more of them actually kissing.

Steve remembers the kiss- it was quick, chaste, a non-verbal “Glad you survived being thrown through that building” before they went back to dealing with the aftermath of the fight. Of course, if Tony had told Steve about his concussion and fractured ribs then that moment might have gone a little differently, but as it was the kiss was nothing special. Certainly nothing that warrants a two-page magazine spread.

“Ooh, someone’s making headlines,” Natasha teases as she walks by on her way into the kitchen. “You and Stark causing scandals now?”

“Depends on what you’d call a scandal,” Steve says, flipping the magazine around to show her the headline on the cover. 

Natasha reads it, and snorts. “Of course. How _dare_ two married men kiss in public,” she drawls, sarcastic and amused. “I wouldn’t worry about it too much, Steve. It’s the sort of thing that everyone will forget about in about a day.”

“I’m not worried about,” Steve says. “It’s just… Well, it’s a little weird, isn’t it?”

“What’s weird?” Sam asks as he walks into the room to get his own breakfast. Steve, secretly, hopes that the rest of the team is still fast asleep. He doesn’t need everyone taking part in this conversation. 

“Steve and Tony made page 15 in some gossip rag,” Natasha tells him. Steve holds up the magazine again so Sam can see the pictures. 

Sam laughs. “Man, I was wondering when that was gonna happen to you two. Does Tony know yet?”

“He’s still asleep so no, I don’t think he does,” Steve says. “And what do you mean, you were wondering when this would happen?”

“This is the first time your relationship has hit the tabloids since the wedding, isn’t it?” Sam sidesteps around Natasha to pour himself a cup of coffee and adds, “You and Tony had a planned press release for that, but now you’re at the mercy of the sharks.”

“And I wasn’t when we got reinstated after Thanos?” Steve asks, voice dry.

To his surprise, both Sam and Natasha shake their heads. “That was professional. This is personal,” Sam explains. “It’s a whole different situation now.”

It is, and Steve realizes with a jolt that that is what’s making him so uncomfortable about seeing those photos in print. It’s one thing to see Captain America in the papers, to see people talking about him as a symbol or figurehead; it’s another thing completely to see them talking about what had been a private moment between Steve and his husband. It’s unnerving, and invasive, and-

“Hey, honey, what’s that look on your face for?” Tony asks, his voice still sleep-rough as he blinks up at Steve a little blearily. The concussion is mostly gone, but it’ll be a few weeks until his ribs are fully healed and he’s still bruised and in pain, moving a little gingerly as he crosses the space to give Steve a good-morning kiss. 

The kiss is sweet, gentle, and Steve has to force himself to keep one arm wrapped loosely around Tony’s waist instead of pulling him down onto his lap and making the kiss a little deeper, a little hotter. They aren’t alone in the kitchen, he reminds himself, and Tony is still injured. 

Steve pulls away from the kiss just enough to murmur, “You should sit down, let me get you coffee,” against Tony’s lips.

Steve feels Tony’s smile. “I can get my own coffee,” Tony says, and when he pulls away Steve has to stop himself from reaching out, from grabbing, from pulling Tony back into his arms. “And you haven’t answered my question, don’t think I didn’t notice that.”

Steve wonders how he’s supposed to remember anything that happened before that kiss, especially when he swears he can still taste the faint mint of Tony’s toothpaste on his tongue. He unconsciously licks his lips, and watches as Tony pours himself a cup of coffee. “What question?” he asks, several long moments later, and ignores the embarrassed flush that spreads across his cheeks as Natasha and Sam snicker at him.

“What was that look on your face about, when I first came in?” Tony asks around a yawn. “You looked like-” He waves a hand, searching for the right word.

“Like he found unflattering paparazzi photos of himself on page 15 of a trashy magazine?” Natasha suggests. 

Tony is still a little too sleepy to pick up on her knowing grin, or the way Sam dissolves into a fit of laughter at her words. He just nods and says, “Yeah. Yeah, like that.” It isn’t until he turns around and sees the still-open magazine on the counter in front of Steve that his smile fades a little. “Oh, sweetheart, don’t tell me…”

Steve pushes the magazine over towards Tony as he sits down in the stool next to Steve. “I’m afraid so,” he says with a small, forced smile. “Our kiss from the battle the other day.”

“Well, damn,” Tony says with a sigh. “They didn’t even get our good side.”

“Tony!”

“What? Take it from me, darling, the photos could definitely be worse,” Tony says. He closes the magazine and tosses it towards the far end of the bar, before reaching out and grabbing Steve’s hand. He squeezes it gently and says, “Don’t worry about it anymore, okay? It doesn’t mean anything.”

Steve brings Tony’s hand up to his lips and presses a gentle kiss to the back of it. “If you say so.” 

Tony smiles at him, soft and sweet, and Steve basks in the warmth of that look while ignoring Sam and Natasha, who are making fake gagging noises in the background and calling out for them to get a room. “I do say so,” Tony says, also ignoring their teammates. “This will blow over in a day or two. Just you wait.”

XXXXX

_**HONEYMOON PERIOD OVER! ROGERS AND STARK CAUGHT FIGHTING ON DATE!** _

_There’s no wedded bliss to be found as Tony Stark-Rogers and Steve Rogers-Stark were caught arguing as they left an upscale Brooklyn restaurant late Tuesday night. Eyewitnesses report that their tone was “hushed, but heated”. Although there has been no confirmation of the subject of the fight, rumors suggest that Captain Rogers-Stark was not happy about the recent photos of their PDA making headlines._

“So, this might not be dying down as quickly as I hoped,” Tony says in a rush as Steve quickly skims the article. Good lord, there are more photos. “I’m so sorry, babe, I should’ve known that someone would see us arguing and make a big deal out of it.”

Steve just shakes his head. “That wasn’t even a real fight, though.” Far from it, in fact. “How could you have possibly known…?”

“Because I know how the media trolls work in this country,” Tony cuts in. “I should’ve known they’d be watching us after those pictures came out, and I should’ve known how our friendly debate would look to outsiders.”

Tony has this pinched, unhappy look on his face that Steve knows far too well. It’s the look that means that Tony is unfairly blaming himself for what happened. Steve knows that, if left to his own devices, Tony would hide himself away and collapse into a spiral of self-loathing- which is absolutely ridiculous because Tony didn’t do anything wrong.

“Hey, no, that’s not fair. I’ve had my fair share of experiences with the media too. I shouldn’t’ve kept going on once we walked outside.” Steve tosses the newspaper aside and opens his arms and (thank god) Tony steps forward into them. He buries his face against Steve’s neck and Steve presses a kiss to the top of his head, wrapping his arms around Tony and holding him as tightly as he dares with Tony’s still-injured ribs. “Why are you so worked up about this?”

Tony sighs, and Steve can still feel the tension thrumming through his body. “I was hoping the photos of us kissing would be a one-off, but this article is going to keep us in the spotlight for weeks. Anything we do is going to be scrutinized and theorized about. It’s gonna be a mess, Steve, and I didn’t want you to go through that.”

Steve feels his heart ache a little at Tony’s explanation and he’s quick to say, “Well, I don’t want _you_ to go through that either. We’ll deal with this, okay? We’ll lie low and let the other Avengers take the heat for a bit.”

Tony snorts. “Not sure they’d appreciate that.”

“I’ll pull rank on ‘em, they won’t have a choice,” Steve jokes. That gets a genuine laugh out of Tony, and Steve smiles to hear it.

Tony finally looks up at Steve, smiling a little begrudgingly- but still smiling, nonetheless, and the sight of it makes Steve’s chest go warm and tight with affection. Sometimes it still amazes Steve that Tony loves him, that Tony looks at him like he’s the center of Tony’s world, because Steve is just _Steve_ and Tony is… well, _everything_.

“You’re a complete dork, you know that?” Tony says. It comes out sounding fond, and amused. “An absolutely irredeemable-”

Steve cuts him off with a kiss, which stops Tony’s teasing but does nothing to stop his smile or his delighted laughter even as he kisses Steve back. 

“-dork,” Tony says when they finally pull apart (too soon for Steve’s liking, because in his ideal world he’d be kissing Tony pretty much all the time). His voice is breathy and quiet, like the kiss made Tony forget that he was supposed to be teasing Steve. 

And then, because Tony can’t leave well enough alone and is seemingly determined to make himself miserable, Tony sighs and says again, “I am sorry, though, Steve.”

Well, that won’t do at all. “Sorry enough to admit that I was right in our little debate?” he asks, making his voice bright with faux innocence.

Tony, predictably, gapes at him for a second, then laughs as he finally catches on to what Steve is saying. “What? No! Absolutely not! I stand firmly by my point mister, don’t think even for a second-”

And just like that Tony is off again, picking up exactly where their debate had left off the other night, all wild gestures and loud articulation, and Steve doesn’t mean to laugh at him but he _loves_ Tony like this, worked up and passionate about something other than the latest supervillain or Stark Industries disaster. It’s always too easy to egg him on, and even easier to catch Tony around the waist- still mindful of his ribs, always careful when Tony is injured- and kiss along the side of his neck. 

“Hey- hey, no, I’m still mad and you’re still- still wrong,” Tony says, but the protest is weak because he’s already arching his neck to bare more skin to Steve’s clever mouth. “Your argument is wrong because you still aren’t- aren’t considering- all the evidence and- and- fuck, babe, I know what you’re doing here, and it won’t work.”

“Seems to be working to me,” Steve says. This time he’s the one laughing as Tony pulls him into another kiss and soon they’re both too busy to keep worrying about that newspaper article.

XXXXX

_**WHERE WAS IRON MAN? My theory: He's been benched because of his recent fight with Captain America!** _

_Okay, listen up everyone, because this is going to be a doozy. We all know Iron Man was missing from yesterday’s battle out on Long Island and, like the title says, I think that’s because Cap went and benched him after their fight during their dinner date earlier in the week. Let’s look at the evidence here..._

Steve has to take a deep breath and remind himself that he cannot fight with online bloggers. Not even anonymously. No matter how wrong their post may be (and this one is very, _very_ wrong).

Bucky, leaning over Steve’s shoulder to read the blog post along with him, whistles lowly. “Damn. That’s something else, even for them.”

Steve has to force himself to close the laptop gently, because he knows if he slams it shut like he wants to he’ll only end up breaking it. Again. “It’s definitely a leap, that’s for sure.”

“Now you’re just being polite about it. It’s fuckin’ _ridiculous_ is what it is.”

Steve sighs, his body as tense as a livewire. “We chose not to disclose Tony’s injuries to the public, so it’s not like they could’ve known that was the reason he wasn’t involved in the last battle.”

“Yeah, but making the leap straight to being benched?” Bucky gives Steve a skeptical look. “C’mon, Stevie, really?”

“What do you expect me to do here, Buck?” Steve snaps. “It’s just some kid writing some shit online. It doesn’t matter.”

Except it _does_ matter, because it’s things like this that tend to eventually get picked up by legitimate media organizations and passed off as “news”. A headline like that one would be nothing but trouble for Tony and Steve- and the unimpressed look that Bucky gives him says that his friend is well aware of that fact too.

“Sure, Steve, whatever you say,” Bucky says, with the tone of someone who knows that Steve is full of shit.

Usually Steve likes that Bucky knows him well enough to call him out on his bullshit, but right now it’s just irritating and infuriating because there’s nothing he can do in this situation. He’s not taking legal action against a kid, for Christ’s sake, so his hands are effectively tied. And when Steve remembers what the so-called “argument” between him and Tony was actually about- because it sure as hell wasn’t over those photos making headlines, far from it in fact- his irritation shoots up another few notches.

Steve’s cell starts to ring before he can reply to Bucky, and he feels his annoyance skyrocket yet again because odds are that this is one of the Avengers calling to bother him about some inane issue that he really just does not want to deal with right now.

“Rogers,” Steve answers, without even looking at his phone screen.

_“Hey, honey, so FRIDAY tattled on you and told me about the blog post you found. You hanging in there okay?”_

It’s Tony, and just hearing his voice is enough to make most of the tension leave Steve’s body. Bucky, knowing damn well who Steve is talking to, snickers at him, and then gestures that they’ll talk later before leaving the room to give Steve some privacy. 

“Yeah, Tony, I’m fine,” Steve says.

He’s not surprised when Tony makes a disapproving noise at that, because he knows how unconvincing he sounded. _“Uh-huh. Of course you are.”_

“Well, if it stays at this one blog I’ll be fine, but…”

_“But it’s not going to stay at this,”_ Tony finishes for him. _“Right. I’m on my way back.”_

Steve shakes his head, even though he knows Tony won’t be able to see it. “Tony, no, you’re supposed to be at work-”

_“Hush now, some things are more important than meetings,_ ” Tony says, and Steve feels his chest go warm and tight at that. _“Besides, sugar, I’m already on my way. See you in about fifteen minutes.”_

“Tony-” Steve tries to protest but Tony cuts off the call before he gets a chance. 

Steve looks down at his phone, wondering if he should call Tony back and try to talk him out of returning to the compound… but in the end he just pockets the phone and goes upstairs to wait for Tony. Maybe Tony should be at meetings, sure, but right now Steve can’t deny that he’s looking forward to dealing with this new situation with his husband at his side, instead of by himself.

XXXXX

_Post by Anonymous on September 5 at 2:24pm_

_Do you really think that Captain America would be so unprofessional that he would let a personal fight dictate how he runs the Avengers? First off, we only know about one confirmed argument and we don’t even know what that was actually about. Second, Iron Man got thrown through a building during the last battle he was in. Maybe he’s still recovering from injuries? Or maybe he just wasn’t needed on this most recent battle, considering they already had War Machine, Falcon, Vision, and Thor as aerial support? Your theory is weak and based on circumstantial evidence, at best. Maybe stop spreading more rumors about a situation you clearly know nothing about_.

“Steve, please tell me that comment wasn’t from you.”

“Mm?” Steve has his head in Tony’s lap and he has to arch his back to tilt his head enough to properly look up at Tony. “What comment?”

“The comment on that ridiculous blog post speculating that you benched me because we were fighting, the one you were reading earlier,” Tony says. He glances down to meet Steve’s curious, and confused, eyes and sighs. “I’ll take it from that look that you have no idea what I’m talking about.”

“Sorry, no,” Steve says, and settles back down in Tony’s lap. “I know the post, sure, but I didn’t comment on anything. Was it bad?”

Tony chuckles and moves one hand to card through Steve’s hair. Steve’s eyes close of their own accord and he lets out a peaceful, contented sigh. “Look at you, you’re practically a cat, sweetheart,” Tony says, and if Steve knew how to purr he probably would. “No, it wasn’t bad. Emphatically not bad, actually, very- very emphatically not bad. I can’t tell if it’s someone on the team, or just a very loyal fan of ours.”

Steve remembers, briefly, the look on Bucky’s face when he had finished reading the blog post in question and wonders if maybe it could have been him… But then Tony’s clever fingers scratch at a particularly sensitive spot behind Steve’s ears- _god_ , he is just like a cat, isn’t he- and the thought disappears as he melts back into a boneless, contented puddle on Tony’s lap once more.

XXXXX

_**IS CAP TOO BIASED TO LEAD THE AVENGERS?** _

_It’s a question that’s been on everyone’s mind in recent days. From the unprofessional display of PDA on the battlefield to Tony “Iron Man” Stark-Rogers’s absence from recent engagements following a lover’s spat, many wonder if Captain America may not be seeing clearly where the Armored Avenger is concerned._

_We sat down with several experts to discuss the situation and found there were mixed opinions on the matter._

“This is getting ridiculous,” Wanda says curtly. There’s magic dancing along her fingertips, like she’s a little too irritated to keep her powers contained, although she’s still completely in control of the red sparks. She’s always in control of her magic these days. “It’s one thing for a lone fan to speculate online, but for a news website to report it like this…”

Steve agrees, though he’s not surprised that they’ve reached this point. He’s been waiting for something like this to happen ever since reading that blog post, but skimming the “think-piece” still makes him sick. It was one thing when what people said just impacted him and Tony. That was still unpleasant, but it was manageable. But the implications of this new article have the potential to impact the entire team and that’s unacceptable.

“Tony’s on it,” Natasha says as she walks into the room. “FRIDAY, if you could please pull up the exterior security feed from the New York Stark Industries offices-”

Steve had been hopeful when Natasha had first started speaking, because if anyone can handle this situation it would be Tony, but once FRIDAY pulls up the footage his heart sinks. “Oh no,” he says, watching as Tony, flanked by Happy Hogan and Colonel Rhodes, stares down a sea of reporters in front of the Midtown Stark Industries building. “What’s he planning now?”

“He’s planning to save your skin,” Natasha tells him. “He’s holding an impromptu press conference so he can go on the record about his injuries being the reasons why he was missing from our last engagement.”

_“...cracked ribs are nothing to sniff at, and even I’m not stupid enough to respond to a call and risk making them worse,_ ” Tony is saying. Steve sees him smirk and all he can think about is how much he wants to kiss that amused smugness off of his face, feel Tony laugh against him even as he leans into the kiss. It’s probably a good thing, then, that he’s up at the compound and Tony is handling this in the city. They don’t need another PDA scandal in the news anytime soon.

_“Don’t get me wrong, the Iron Man armor is some pretty strong stuff- it better be, considering_ I’m _the one who built it- but I still get banged up in it and until my ribs heal War Machine has taken over my position as aerial support with the team. That’s why War Machine was so quick to respond to the threat- he was, quite literally, waiting for the call.”_ Tony’s grin turns a little sharper and Steve finds himself grinning as well at the sight of it, because he knows that Tony is about to give the reporters a little bit of hell. _“Honestly, it’s ridiculous to leap to conclusions like this after just one missed battle. Are we going to have to reassure you that Ant-Man hasn’t been benched either, since he was missing from the last fight as well?”_

There’s some scattered laughter at that from the reporters, while the Avengers back in the compound all snort and shake their heads. “They’re idiots, all of them,” Natasha mutters, and Steve would have to agree with that too. It’s true that the media doesn’t seem to care when another Avenger is absent from a fight- just when it’s him or Tony.

_“So Mr. Stark, what you’re saying is-”_

_“Mr. Stark-Rogers, please,”_ Tony is quick to interrupt. Steve feels warm, possessive almost, at hearing Tony assert his married name like that.

_“Mr. Stark-Rogers, of course. What you’re saying is that you aren’t off the team at all, then?”_

_“Correct. I am still an active co-leader of the Avengers, along with my husband. You can ask anyone on the team and I think they’d agree that our personal relationship makes us stronger when we work together during battles. There is no bias, no benching, and we would both appreciate it if the rumor mill let these particular pieces of gossip die.”_

“Hopefully they will listen to that,” Wanda murmurs. Steve isn’t sure that they will, but he appreciates Tony’s attempt to get them to stop anyway.

_“Mr. Stark-Rogers, one more question! Can you confirm what you were fighting with your husband about the other week? Was it about those photos?”_

“Oh no,” Steve says again, and he’s aware that everyone in the compound is suddenly looking at him with amused curiosity. 

“Hey, you never did tell us what that was all about, did you?” Bucky says, and he has a wide shit-eating grin on his face. 

On the screen, Tony looks a little flustered at the question. _“A personal matter. Nothing relating to the Avengers whatsoever,”_ Tony says, but even Steve knows that that’s not going to be enough to dissuade the reporters. 

_“What personal matter is that?”_

_“Is there a problem with your relationship with Captain Rogers-Stark?”_

_“Is this going to affect your ability to work together on Avengers missions?”_

Rhodey leans in and whispers something in Tony’s ear. Steve would bet that the Colonel is telling Tony to suck it up and tell the truth, a statement which Steve would wholeheartedly agree with no matter how embarrassing the subject of their friendly debate had been. And Tony does finally clear his throat and says, ever the diplomat, _“We were debating a theoretical point about a book series we had both read. Like I said, nothing related to the Avengers.”_

_“What book series was that, Mr. Stark-Rogers?” one of the reporters asks._

“Yeah, Steve, what book series was it?” Sam echoes, and he has a grin on his face wide enough to rival Bucky’s. 

Steve doesn’t answer him, because he can see on the video feed the exact moment that Tony decides, to hell with it, he’ll tell the truth. _“The Lord of the Rings,”_ Tony says. _“Well, technically Tolkien’s collective writings about Middle Earth but most of our debate was focused on a point from The Lord of the Rings so we’ll go with that.”_

There’s some laughter from the reporters, and from the Avengers assembled to watch the impromptu press conference- but the Avengers, at least, aren’t surprised by this like the media seems to be. They’re well aware of both Tony’s and Steve’s love of fantasy.

_“You expect us to believe that you had a heated debate with your husband about The Lord of the Rings?”_ one reporter asks, clearly skeptical. _“What about the books could you have possibly been debating?”_

The condescending tone of the question sets Steve’s teeth on edge and he knows immediately that Tony isn’t going to dance around the subject of their little debate anymore- although, as Tony starts talking and Steve’s face heats up in embarrassment, he almost wishes he would.

_“We were debating whether Arwen and Aragorn would have been allowed to sail to the Undying Lands, if that is a choice either of them wanted to make near the end of their lives,”_ Tony says, and every Avenger around Steve immediately collapses in fits of laughter. _“For the record, I say that if Gimli could sail with Legolas then those two should’ve been able to as well. Any other questions about anything, Tolkien or Avengers or otherwise?”_

“FRIDAY, cut the feed, please,” Steve says, and he has to actually raise his voice to be heard over the laughter of his teammates. “And please place a call to Tony as soon as he’s available.”

Steve is pretty sure that their troubles aren’t quite over yet, and he needs to have a word with his husband about how to handle the, _Captain America: Giant Nerd!_ headlines that he knows will be coming.

XXXXX

_“Now, the big news of the day is, of course, the last-minute press conference held by Avengers co-leader, and man I’m not going to make a joke about because I’m all heart-eyes over what I’m about to tell you, Tony Stark-Rogers. The press conference was to address recent rumors that Stark had been taken off active duty with the Avengers by his husband, and also Avengers Co-Leader, Captain Steve Rogers-Stark. Stark cleared the air about the situation, discussing his recent absence as well as revealing what that dinner date argument was from a few weeks back. Take a look.”_

“Oh my god,” Steve says. He’s been saying that a lot over the last few hours but he can’t help it. His cheeks burn bright red with embarrassment and he buries his face in his hands as a clip from the end of the press conference plays on TV. 

Tony, laughing, drapes an arm around Steve’s shoulder. “Come on, honey, it’s not that bad.” Steve shakes his head and refuses to look back up at the TV as the studio audience laughs. “Steve, seriously, just look, it’s not bad at all.”

Steve looks up, only because it’s Tony asking him to, just in time to see the late-night host standing there with a grin on his face, looking very much like a kid who just got told that Christmas came early. 

_“Yeah, sure, there’s a lot of good information in the first half of that press conference- but oh my_ god _, my two favorite superheroes are fans of my favorite author! Eeeeeeeee!”_

Even Steve has to laugh, just a little, at the excited bouncing and fist pumping that the host is doing.

“He’s known for being a huge Tolkien nerd,” Tony explains, relaxing against Steve’s side. Steve drops one hand away from his face so he can wrap an arm around Tony’s shoulders, pulling him in closer. “I knew this segment would be fine.”

_“So as far as I’m concerned? There’s no one better qualified to lead the Avengers than Cap and Iron Man. I mean, Mr. Stark-Rogers, no offense, but you’re completely wrong in this debate- the whole point of Arwen Undomiel’s sacrifice was that in giving up her immortality she also gave up her right to sail to the Undying Lands… and I am definitely getting off track here. The point is, regardless of who was right or who was wrong, both of you still have my support. And if either of you are watching?”_ The host grins, wide and bright and clearly delighted with what Tony let slip in that press conference, and Steve can feel himself reflexively smiling as well. _“If ever you are passing my way, don’t wait to knock! Tea is at four; but you are welcome at any time!”_

Steve recognizes the quote, because how could he not, and dissolves into a fit of laughter as the show goes to a commercial break. Tony is chuckling too, Steve can feel it shake through his body, and Steve gently tugs Tony up so he’s lying on top of Steve instead of curled into his side, mindful as ever of his still-healing ribs.

“Hey there, sweetcheeks,” Tony says, and he’s still grinning, eyes still dancing with amusement. “You feeling better about the media situation now that we have all of late night in our corner?”

The media is the last thing on Steve’s mind right now, not with Tony a comforting weight against Steve’s body, Tony’s smile bright enough to light up the entire room, Tony’s hands stroking absentmindedly down Steve’s sides. Steve does feel better, sure, but that has more to do with _Tony_ than anything the late night host said.

“Much better,” Steve assures him anyway, his own hands rubbing up and down the length of Tony’s back. “I’m feeling much, _much_ better now.”

XXXXX

_**THE PERFECT PAIR: "SUPER-HUSBANDS" CAP AND IRON MAN SAVE THE DAY!** _

_With the rest of the team unavailable for backup, Steve “Captain America” Rogers-Stark and Tony “Iron Man” Stark-Rogers stepped up and single-handedly saved New Jersey from the sea monster wrecking havoc along the coast. The married duo appeared to work together as seamlessly as ever, lending credibility to Stark-Roger’s comments that all was well with the two men at a press conference last week._

_“Obviously we put out a call to all available Avengers and allies, but we didn’t have time to wait for anyone to return from their other missions across the world,” Captain Rogers-Stark explained. “Having Iron Man fight while injured was not an ideal situation, but we unfortunately had no other choice and I’m thankful that the battle was brief and that damages are minimal.”_

_Local residents shared similar sentiments, with several people hoping that the battle didn’t aggravate Mr. Stark-Roger’s existing injuries._

Steve sighs and tosses the paper aside. “Give it a day and there’ll be headlines wondering why I let you fight at all when you were injured.”

“Hey now, don’t start thinking about that now,” Tony says, shifting delicately so he can curl up closer to Steve’s side. “Let’s celebrate this victory while we can, sugarplum.”

“The victory over the media, or over the giant sea monster?” Steve asks, dryly.

Tony laughs. “Both, I suppose.” He rests his head on Steve’s shoulder, and sighs contentedly when Steve wraps an arm around him. “This is probably as close to a victory as we’re ever going to get with those sharks, after all.”

Steve knows that Tony isn’t talking about the sea monster, and he can’t help but chuckle. Tony looks up at him, questioning, and Steve explains, “Sam called the media “sharks”, back when those first pictures got printed.”

Tony snorts, and buries his face against Steve’s neck. “God, I wish this mess had stopped there,” he says, and Steve feels the vibrations of the words against his skin. “Still, we got through it, didn’t we? _That’s_ a cause for celebration too, come to think of it.”

Steve chuckle and presses a kiss to the top of Tony’s head, just because it’s there and he wants to and he can. “I always knew we’d get through it,” he says.

“Did you now.” Tony twists so he can look up at Steve. “I seem to remember you being less confident of that at several points during this adventure.”

“Mmm, not really, no,” Steve says, and asks, “Isn’t that position hurting your ribs?”

“No. Maybe a little. That’s not the point.” Steve, unamused, shifts them both so they’re propped up on their sides and so that Tony doesn’t have to contort his body into a position that puts too much stress on his injuries. “Fine, thanks, whatever- the point is, you were definitely worried about how this would all turn out.”

“I wasn’t worried. I was angry,” Steve says, because that’s the truth. He was angry that their privacy was being violated, he was angry about the insinuations they made about his relationship with Tony, and he was angry that there was little either Tony or him could do to stop it. But he wasn’t worried, not really.“You were always more worried than me.”

“What? No!” Tony scoffs. “You were completely worried about those first pictures, and the blog post, and-”

“And I knew it would all work out in the end,” Steve interrupts gently. “I had the Great Tony Stark in my corner after all, remember?”

“Excuse me, that’s Tony Stark- _Rogers_ ,” Tony says and even though Steve knows that Tony is pulling his leg right now he still loves hearing Tony’s married name. He doesn’t think he’ll ever get tired of hearing it, even if he does mutter, “Oh, shut up,” as he leans in to kiss Tony.

"Sorry to interrupt, Boss, Captain," FRIDAY cuts in, and Tony sighs as he pulls away from the kiss, much to Steve’s disappointment. "But Falcon and Widow have returned from their mission and are asking about a debrief."

Being an Avenger means rarely getting a break, Steve and Tony both know that, but Steve has never hated that fact more than he does right now. “Tell them we’ll debrief tomorrow,” Steve says, almost impulsively, before Tony can say anything. “Unless their news is of the world-ending variety.”

There’s a momentary pause before FRIDAY relays, “No world-ending intel. They said they will meet you at 10AM.”

“Good.” Steve looks at Tony, who still seems braced to leap out of bed and is giving Steve an incredulous look. “What? We just saved the world by ourselves. We deserve a bit of a break, don’t we?”

“We saved Jersey, that’s not the world. That’s not even representative of the world, that’s just-”

“Tony,” Steve interrupts, laughing. “If you keep that up, I’ll think you actually do want to debrief today.”

That gets Tony settling back down immediately, this time moving back in closer to Steve, almost burrowing against his chest. “Absolutely not,” Tony says firmly, as Steve wraps an arm around him again, holding him close. “I’m not leaving this bed for the rest of the day, and neither are you.”

And Steve is more than happy to go along with that plan.


End file.
